RRASC 2015 Final Report, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Maritsa Duenas

RRASC 2015 Final Report, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) and the RRASC Program are the sponsors of internship programs during the summer, placing undergraduate students in different organizations around the country where they fight for reproductive rights and social justice. I am so grateful for the way CLPP/RRASC received me, supported me, trained me (in an intensive 3 day training at the annual CLPP Conference), and made me feel able to accomplish different tasks at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH). This agency stands for the well-being of women, families, and communities in need, as well as empowering, informing, encouraging, and preparing Latina and women of color in leadership skills.

I can proudly say that I had the opportunity to be part of NLIRH. This institution works to protect a group of people that has been oppressed. Unfortunately, this country’s policies don’t favor of women of color. On the contrary, it goes against certain classes of women: the poor, the minorities, the ones who are disadvantaged. An important element of women’s rights is missing here in the US: the right to choose when to be pregnant, the right to have an abortion, and the right to have a family. Unfortunately for women living in poverty, the government and greater society only counts how much you have, how much you earn, and what color you are. Poor women’s freedom of choice does not seem to matter.

I was assigned to do a “master plan” (as they called it) for “The Legislative PolicyTracking Project.” This is an excel file that covers all State’s law projects that work with NLIRH. I had to take some information from websites about policies in certain states and put it in the database, depending on the state. I was going state by state and worked through Florida, Virginia, New York, and Texas. I put all of the information together in different files so that the main office (which is located in Washington DC) could access it whenever they needed to.

I was assigned to do other activities. I was a contact person for certain people in congress who had a shared interest in the work of NLIRH. The saying “practices makes you a master” is true because setting up appointments with Council and Congress people was challenging. I was also assigned to find a place (something cheap and close to the federal district) to organize a workshop for a Young Parents Event. I found it after several days/weeks. Other tasks I had included making translations to Spanish, completing side jobs for The Legislative Policy Tracking Project (i.e. doing research about certain towns in Virginia and comparing it with other towns in other states), and I was a part of the weekly morning meetings with all of NLIRH.

The last two weeks of the internship was “The National Latina Week of Action.” Every meeting was all about this week of action. This event was supposed to be held in all other states in agreement with other allies like COLOR of California and Arizona. I helped them to translate a lot of documents, flyers, letters, etc., that were only in English. Some of them only needed revisions, but it still required a lot of my time to correct them. Here, in New York City, as part of the week of action, two visits with Congresswoman Maloney and Councilwoman Palma were held. It was really interesting knowing that these leaders were thinking about reproductive justice. The tweeting day in New York was set up for the middle of the week, and it ended with a day of action here in the New York office. The other states (Virginia, Florida, Washington, and Texas) were hosting E-LOLAS offering training in legislative advocacy in both English and Spanish.

One of my skills that I used most often in my internship was my good attitude to learn everything. I was open to doing anything and wanted to be part of everything. I think is one of my qualities as human being. What makes me unique, I believe, is my commitment to doing something that makes me feel proud. For example, I was part of the convening of a Wage Board meeting about the increase of the minimum wage in New York City. The salary wage was meant to be raised to $15 per hour. I was also at a New York City Public Hearing where a lot of organizations got together. Another thing that I did was travel to Washington DC to support the “Young Parents Agenda Briefing” at the Senate Office. Finally, I can proudly say that I participated in the LGBTQ March/Rally in New York City.

The most difficult thing that I had to do was traveling every day to New York. I live in Rahway, New Jersey and I have to use both the train and subway. In order to get to work on time, I had to be ready to get the train very early in the morning. It was a little difficult get used to because I spent almost 4 hours every day traveling. I overcame that difficulty by thinking positive, not arguing with myself about the time I was spending traveling, and putting in my mind “pictures” that helped me to remain positive and have a good attitude. I demonstrated that nothing could be impossible if you have a positive attitude.

What I viewed as the highlight of my internship experience would be the way I approached new things. Throughout my time with NLIRH, I thought I was a good fit for the community mobilization team because I felt that I was prepared for that. However, I knew that I needed more practice in policy engagement and needed do more research in order to be able to explain certain issues. One thing I noticed about the team was how they were able to take action in all different activities whether it be civic engagement, community organizing, community mobilization, or grassroots advocacy. When I saw those positive attributes in the group, I thought that I couldn’t be in the wrong place because all of these activities fulfilled me in different ways and they were similar to the range of activities I was doing as a volunteer in an organization that helps undocumented people.

Of course my academic studies helped prepare me for this internship because all of the classes that I took about policy were good lessons that I cannot forget. In one class I learned how to contact elected officials and I used what my professor taught me in my work at NLIRH. This internship absolutely contributed to my career goals. This internship did really contribute to my career goals because without this space to practice, I would never be able to learn new things. I got involved easily in different activities at NLIRH and the more time I spent working with them, the more experience I gained. I also learned more about the intersections of reproductive justice, but I have known about the social justice issues since I was little.

The work experience in general was very good, and it would not been as positive if it wasn’t for the friendly and loving staff members of NLIRH. The community mobilization team was great because it helped me grow my skills and my interests were valued. It was more meaningful for me to be valued as a person and friend, than as a student who got to do her internship there. Being counted as part of their team, that was what really mattered to me.
I would like to recommend an internship in NLIRH to any potential future RRASC. My advice would be that although there are benefits to being a self-driven, independent worker, there is just as much to gain from asking questions and putting yourself out there. The staff there are very supportive, they treat you as coworkers, and they want to help you accomplish your goals. They will check in with you about what your work plans are, as well as asking you how you feel. They were very amicable, supportive, and helpful.

NLIRH, is a great institution with a great staff and any intern would be lucky to work there. Each one of them has something to give to people and that is amazing. Having met them makes me think that we are not alone, that we as women always have something in common and that is helping those in need. I am very proud having met them.